Haiku: The Day My Jaw Dropped
“You see, my brethren, my heart is full; I could almost say it is too big to speak, and yet too big to be silent, without dropping a word to you.” George Whitefield

Haiku: The Day My Mouth Dropped
Like a thief, you came
Hiding behind bamboo stalks
A skunk in clear sight
Blatant plagiarist
Creativity … impaired
The day my mouth dropped
Nothing is more frustrating than when people plagiarise(UK)/plagiarize(US) your content without giving credit. It sucks and it makes you mad, and you want to reach through the internet and slap them. The best way to deal with such arrogance and lack of respect is to get creative and keep on creating because, sooner or later, they will get stuck in the mire of their own crap. The Day My Jaw Dropped aka Mouth Drop is a first response to such behavior.
More Below
“Writing a book of poetry is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo.” Don Marquis

Haiku: The Day My Mouth Dropped
What wakes you up …. thief?
Morning boulders get you up
Steal … pretend to seek
Plagiarize away!
A stain of theft will maim you
The day YOUR jaw drops!
If you are in the habit of stealing content and not giving credit, STOP! I can’t stress enough how important it is to give credit where it is due and develop your own stuff. The more you try doing your own thing, the better you get at it. Period!
My fellow bloggers were equally creative with their selections. Check out how others interpreted the theme – Mouth Drop – below.
This post was inspired by a prompt from WP Daily Post: Mouth Drop. In exactly 100 words creatively describe one moment when your mouth dropped open, chin hit the ground, and tears rolled down your face (figuratively or not). If you prefer to develop this into a longer post, that’s fine too!
Positive Motivation Tip: Creative impulses come to us. Use your own to create, don’t plagiarise/plagiarize others creativity.
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos – Poster via Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, and Labyrinth, Sadness, via Wikipedia and/or from my Personal Collection.
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
It’s never fun when you find someone has plagiarized your work. I’ve had people steal my photos and recipes and pass it off as their own with no link to my work. It drives me crazy sometimes.
That is sad… and with recipes, it can be a delicate issue because we all make dishes that can end up sounding the same. I hear you.
I’m sorry that happened to you. 🙁
Hi Ruth,
Sadly, it happens to a ton of people all over the internet so my post is not NEWS! It’s happened more than once and while I can understand the occasional mishap, it’s incredibly frustrating when credit is not given. Okay, it’s the INTERNET and stuff is free but, let’s add a little afterthought please…
This is a huge issue. I have seen tons of bloggers stealing content and pictures. I am just like ugh, put your work in!
It is a huge problem all over the internet and sometimes the idiots get your intended traffic! People should just work on creating their own stuff and developing their own ideas… The more we work at it, the more we get our own ideas.
I LOVE this quote: “Writing a book of poetry is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo.” Don Marquis
Beautiful! You know when I see someone quoting someone in their blogs it makes me feel better about that blogger BECAUSE they gave the credit. The people who plagiarize need to understand that it makes them look LESS intelligent when they do so – as sooner or later the readers figure it out – when you quote someone and say it is quoted or give credit it makes the blogger look more intelligent for recognizing brilliance in another!
Exactly!. It is a way to give credit and props where it is due. Often, the originator even shares the work because they have been recognized. It’s a fairly common practice to take and not give credit on the internet, and it gets very annoying. My post is not addressed to a specific incident but to a general bad practice.
That is so wrong not to credit an author. So sad this happened
It happens daily to folks all over the internet. I just used this opportunity to bring it up…
Be creative and honest. Some people just steal from others. Sadly, there is nothing we can do about it, especially in online business.
Exactly. We write a post about it and then we move forward. One day, they will learn that they have great creativity inside of themselves and there is no need to steal others ideas.
I am sorry that this happened to you. It happens to a lot of people, too. I just don’t know why they can’t give credit to the owners of the article or the photos.
I don’t get it either… the oversights I can understand but, the intentional ones are just rude. Life goes on. TY! 🙂
Sorry to hear that someone did this to you, sis! I hope that whoever that person is, that s/he will realize what s/he’s doing is wrong, apologize for her/his misdeed and take down her/his post.
I was really recounting such behavior that I’ve observed over the years. Honestly, I’m over it. Life goes on.
I have two good friends dealing with cancer right now, and this is just not important anymore…
It’s really sad when people steal your hardwork and not give you credit. Some may probably do it innocently but perhaps proper manners should just be taught. Sad.
There are unintentional oversights and then the blatant stuff which I referred to… Otherwise, it is disrespectful. TY!
I thinks it is okay if we follow a writing prompt, however, to blatantly copy someone’s work is a big no-no. If we are going to use someone else’s photo in our articles, I guess it is just right to give credit where credit is due.
All of the above are important… and then we move on. TY!
The closest I had to this kind of thing was when someone used a very personalized hashtag of mine for a quote they made. They made it appear like I was the one who wrote it for some reason. I simply ignored it.
Kudos to you guys though for taking a step. I’m pretty sure if someone did the same thing, then I will be doing the same.
It’s sad when that happens because the world we live in is full of endless creative impulses that we can all access…
That is terrible. Stealing someone’s work is never OK. I’m sorry this happened.
Thank you Shann Eva, I need to work on my haiku because I gave the impression it was about me. It’s about everyone who ever had their work stolen…
I spend hours working on content – creating, developing ideas, – not to mention the money that I spend on graphics, etc. I use free photos sites even though others will use the same picture because I am so scared to inadvertently use one that is copyrighted. Personally, I have no need to steal anyone else’ stuff as my life and journey has given me so much material to fill three books! I hear you and feel your angst about this but as you said, the truth will reveal itself one day with this person or persons as they will stand in front of the traffic stolen from you and will be speechless! Namaste and peace to you. 🙂
Thank you Claudette! I wrote the post to remind us all to be a bit more considerate of our sources. This wasn’t about a specific incident but a series of them over years and that others have experienced too. I didn’t write it just for me.
Again I hear you! Recently, I started using a blog planning – a few months now – and one of the purposes it has served is to show me how our work is being copied. Noticed a few bloggers rewriting articles based on ones that we did only a few days before. I/we see it as a compliment – for now – not sure whether I will should I see our words being copied without credit. 🙁
It will happen, sooner or later, and you’ll get angry and then you’ll move forward… it is the nature of the beast… We are on the internet. TY! 🙂
I love this post! I have a friend who steals my hardwork and doesn’t give me credit; it is really hurtful for me
You ought to have a conversation with her…
More photos of the bamboo – great I love it and of course your haiku are fab!
Thank you Gilly! It could be better… I’ve gotten lazy with it. Must work harder. 🙂
I agree that you shouldn’t take content without giving credit. I’ve heard of people even taking pictures and claiming them as their own more often than content, but both of them really stink.
That happened to me before as well that’s why I put something in my blogs where no one can click to copy.
The issue at hand is well expressed in your nice Haikus. Give credit where credit is due. It is a universal truth that one must follow.
Amen to that! We all fall short but it good to be reminded.
the scenery is indeed a jaw-dropped for every person who witness this fascinating view.
It is quite dramatic in real life!
Good for you for going after someone plagiarizing by getting creative with a haiku! I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with someone plagiarizing; when it has happened to me in the past, I did not react as calmly or as creatively as you.
Thank you Holly! Writing is truly therapeutic and writing this for everyone, who ever had that happen, helped me push past it. I’m over it. 🙂
Good for you for going after someone plagiarizing by getting creative with a haiku! I am sorry you have had to deal with someone plagiarizing from you; when it has happened to me in the past, I did not react as calmly or as creatively as you.
Oh wow, that is awful. No one should ever take anyone else’s work. That’s a rotten thing to do.
That is why it is always good to put copyright watermark on our personal photos. And disclaimer on each post. It is very easy nowadays to copy blog content and hard to avoid.
Exactly and honestly, maybe I sounded more pissed off in my post but I’m not. It happens and then we hope people will be less careless and show some credit but, I’m moving on. It happens to a lot of people and that was what I meant to focus on – as a voice for them – not just about my experience… Am I making sense? TY! 🙂 Phew!
So terrible when someone takes credit for your hard work. Sadder yet that they can’t come up with their own content.
Plagiarism sucks, big time. I agree that there’s nothing more annoying than people using your work without giving proper credit. It’s totally wrong, but I guess in the long run, like what you said, people will eventually know who’s real and who’s a fake.
And it happens sometimes unintentionally but it sucks 😉
As a fellow blogger, I am always sure to give credit where credit is due. This isn’t nice for people to just pass your work off as their own!
There is never an excuse for plagiarism. It is ok to be inspired by someone else, but you need to do your own work and always give credit where credit is due.
UGH! How incredibly frustrating that must have been! I’m sorry you were ripped off, and I have no doubt karma will come around to them!
Sorry this happened. Hope it helps to know that you are not alone with this. Many feel your pain.
Wendy, I was not very clear in my post because that was what it was supposed to convey … that it happens to many many folks. Thank you! 🙂
Ugh that sucks! Hate that people have to deal with people should know better
I’m sorry to hear that this has happened to you. It’s sad and it continues to happen. How hard is it to be original and unique these days.. smh. I see this all the time in my niche as well!
It is sad but we all move on and let it rise. TY!
The Internet has definitely had quite the impact on increasing varying levels of plagiarism. It’s so easy for people to locate, copy, take and claim the work of others as their own. Something that made my jaw drop was how people use photos found online, and claim they are that person…and not too long ago, I read how someone was actually claiming another blogger’s CHILD as their own…that is just too crazy to comprehend.
this is sad and really frustrating…and i agree let’s just move on 🙂
I agree… we must move on. TY
It is frustrating…. How you found out about these?